The World Baseball Classic and Korea

Four years ago, I had the pleasure of witnessing the World Cup of soccer here in Korea. The most memorable aspect of that event was the surprising success of Team Korea, beating famed soccer powerhouses such as Portugal, Italy, and Spain, and tying the U.S. team. Along with the success came an explosion of nationalism (of a healthy sort) that I have rarely witnessed in my life: the millions upon millions of Korean fans partying in the streets following each successive victory. What that event taught me is that there is something to be said for the tenacity of Koreans. It's almost as if they decide they are going to do something, and then they go and do it, no matter what conventional wisdom says.

Here it is four years later. The event is different -- the inaugural World Baseball Classic. Typical powerhouse teams from the United States, Latin America, and Japan were expected to do battle, with Team USA generally presumed to be victorious in the end. Yet here is Korea, with a record of 6-0. They've defeated Japan twice. They've thumped the Americans. And they are showing they really know how to play the game: perfect throws, sparkling defence in the field, fabulous pitching, and timely hitting. And there are the crowds of Koreans from L.A. as well as from Korea, resurrecting the famed Dae-Han-Min-Gook chant that caused soccer stadiums throughout Korea to shudder in 2002.

It is fun to read how other countries view the success of Korea. ESPN rightfully gives considerable credit to the Koreans for the success of the WBC thus far. MLB.com's article following Korea's second win over Japan shows just how important Korea's success has been to the players themselves, who earned a very special reward from the Korean government for making it to the semi-finals.

And now Korea is just two wins away from the most improbable -- winning the World Baseball Classic. But before any of us gets too excited at that thought, the Korean soccer team was in the same position in 2002 -- undefeated heading into the semi-finals before succumbing to the Germans. But then, as now, it doesn't matter what happens from here on out. Korea has demonstrated it can play with the big boys.

I'm not Korean, but my wife and children are, and I've lived here long enough to appreciate the desire for success that Koreans have at all levels of their society. It's intoxicating, really.